The Profit Zone : How Strategic Business Design Will Lead You to Tomorrow's Profits
Author: Adrian Slywotzky, David J. Morrison, Bob Andelman
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ISBN: 0812933044
Publisher: Three Rivers Press (26 February, 2002)
Sales Rank: 2,443
Average Customer Rating: 4.71 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
GREAT CHECKLIST TO FIND YOUR P.Z. AND ACCELERATE SUCCESS
There are some wonderful ideas in the profit zone and many reminders of things we have heard about for years and often forget. For example, the real focus on the customer is critical to success and we must always identify which parts of the business generate the profits, or are THE PROFIT ZONE. I remember a study done in the 1970s which found that most of a brand's profit came from the smallest size can that the product could be purchased in. There are lots of other examples here. The author's are correct in that the most successful companies have been innovators in business design. Ten companies are profiled, althugh surprisingly, Dell Computer is not one of them, having innovated a new profitable business model based on their "Customer Initiative". The authors get into a little trouble when they try to get quantitative. The Value Growth Curves have too few points to draw useful long-term conclusions, but the Business Design Tables are interesting because they will make you think about your business structure. The two best parts of the book are the Pilot's Checklists of questions to ask yourself and Chapter 15, the "How To" section to get discussion and hopefully agreement going inside your company to find and grow THE PROFIT ZONE. For more ideas on how to develop new business models that allow you to achieve twenty times the usual benefits or get there twenty times as fast, I also recommend you read THE 2,000 PERCENT SOLUTION. THE PROFIT ZONE may just be one of your solutions.
Rating: 5 out of 5
The Place to Be
In Part One, the authors argue that "market share is dead" as an overall strategy goal. Instead, to achieve sustained growth in profits and shareholder value, companies need a "customer-centric business design" which anticipates and addresses constantly shifting customer priorities. There is no single design which fits all circumstances. but the most effective designs will start with customer priorities. In Part Two, the co-authors shift their attention to several "reinventors" who have achieved extraordinary success. Most are familiar: Welch, Hayek, Goizueta, Schwab, Grove, Eisner, Hatsopoulos, Barnevik, and Gates. However, and this is an excellent example of the book's unique and substantial value, Slywotzy & Morrison note that "the principles and techniques of reinveniting a company's business design to get it into the industry's profit zone...apply with equal force to small companies, to divisions of larger companies, and to the middle managers who run them. In fact, the reinventors we will be reading about in the future are already honing their skills at innovative business designs today." The authors then examine several smaller firms such as Madden Communications, Cardboard Box, Inc., and Clozaril Patient Management System.
In Part Three, the authors provide a "handbook" which explains in detail how innovation works.This book is relevant to all organizations (both for-profit and non-profit) which seek to increase their economic value. Non-profits must also make critically important decisions (such as those involving allocation of resources) if they are to achieve their objectives. The appendices provide additional guidance so that the reader can implement whichever of the book's ideas and suggestions are most relevant.
If optimizing your organization's profits is your destination, here's a map to get there.
Rating: 5 out of 5
A MUST HAVE!!
EXCELLENT BOOK! One of thee best business books. The book is well structured. All the strategic business models are well detailed with real world applications. Clearly illustrates how the most formidable business gurus have used various strategy models to migrate to profitability and isolate competitors. You will go into the realm of overpowering companies such as Microsoft, Intel, Coca Cola, to name a few.
When you have a book that is highlighted and filled with scribbled notes in almost every page than you know you have a winner. Can hardly wait for the next book by these two great authors. Similar Products
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